Nitrogen Is a Hit at Corn College

Nitrogen management resonates with this year's farmer attendees.

It’s unanimous. Farm Journal’s field agronomists are hitting home with their in-field nitrogen advice at this year’s Corn College in Heyworth, Ill. Ken Ferrie and Missy Bauer have been taking farmer attendees out into the field to show specific examples of how nitrogen application and timing can affect yield.

Mark Loudon of Cornell, Ill., said that his biggest takeaway is, "How to utilize the nitrogen to get the most out of corn to keep it green yearlong." Loudon said the advice will help this year with his crop, which was planted two weeks later than normal. "We sat for a month, and didn’t do anything for about 30 days," he said. "Then we ended up having to replant most of the beans that were planted a week before Memorial Day."

Brothers Justin and Jordan Brewer of Frankfurt, Ind., said they have learned valuable lessons that will change the way they operate. "If you get something stuck, be careful pulling it out," Justin Brewer said. He had just listened to Fred Whitford’s presentation, "Up to the Axles: How to Tow," which explained the safe and appropriate techniques to pull out stuck machinery.

Jordan Brewer, who farms with his brother, said he will start implementing Ferrie’s nitrogen recommendations. "I think the biggest thing that I have learned is about the nitrogen," he said. "Mostly learning about the timing and placement, and the impact that can have on your crop."